Kukla's Korner Hockey

Forget about the captaincy weighing him down. Giroux's slump is more tied to the fact he has lost his two big wingers from last year - Scott Hartnell and the ageless Jaromir Jagr.

Hartnell has played only three games because of a broken left foot. Jagr, who got tired of the Flyers' putting him on hold as they waited to see if they could sign Zach Parise, took the free-agent route to Dallas, where he is the Stars' top scorer with 11 points.

Minus his two linemates from a career-best season in which he finished third in the NHL with 93 points, Giroux has scuffled.

For many reasons.

For one, he has had more linemates than Die Hard has had sequels - and none have the size of Jagr, whose ability to win puck battles was uncanny, or Hartnell. For another, he has been frequently double-teamed and has a fraction of the open ice that was so common last season.

For a smooth skater with dazzling moves such as Giroux, open ice is paramount for creativity. Take it away and those eye-opening passes and clever maneuvers that trigger odd-man rushes become difficult.

Comments

I don’t see how this is any different than Malkin or Crosby not having consistent linemates during most of their NHL career. Those guys are lucky to play with the same linemates for an entire game, let alone any great chunks of a season.

One stand out season does not a captatincy make. Giroux is a talented player, no arguement there. But, a true “C” needs to find ways to make situations work, be creative, be headstrong. Without those qualities the “C” on the sweater is worthless. Just ask any Capitals fan.

First of all, Giroux’s not as good as those two (no matter what Laviolette says). He’s not a player you can put with pluggers and trash and expect him to produce. It would be like expecting Jamie Benn to put up 90 points with Stajan and Blair Jones flanking him. It’s just never gonna happen.

Secondly, I don’t know why Giroux’s Ovechkin all of the sudden. Ovechkin was unwilling to learn to become a more well-rounded player. Came to camp out of shape for years.

Giroux’s problem is the Flyer defense is awful, every forward other than Couturier and probably Talbot is awful defensively, he lost both his linemates and the guys who took their places aren’t top 6 forwards. Giroux needed big bodies like Jagr and Hartnell to draw attention and create lanes. He’s too small to do that himself. Without them…he’s got no play each and every time he touches the puck. There’s nothing he can do, by himself, to change this dynamic.

The flyers’ struggles are completely out of Giroux’s control. Heck, his own struggles are completely out of his control. How do you leadership your way through “not good enough to produce with bad players?”

Sid Plays with 2 3rd Liners, Dupuis & Kunitz & Gino has Neal on on the other wing he has had, Tangradi who has since been traded for a 7th Rd. pick, Tyler Kennedy who SUCKS, Tanner Glass, Love him but a 4th Liner, Matt Cooke who is a 3rd Liner & a few Shifts with Beau Bennett